I had 3 different partitions that included XP, Vista x86 , and Vista x64. I used all three by selecting the one I wanted in the menu that popped up when I turned on my PC.

Just awhile ago, I deleted my XP and Vista x86 partitions.

I also just reinstalled XP again, but now when I start up my PC, I don't get the menu that prompts me to select an OS. Instead, it just boots up my XP partition automatically.

Anyone have the solution? I searched Google, but apparently I'm bad at selecting terms to search for...

Thanks.

Easiest way is to go to Start -> Run..., enter in msconfig, press "OK" and then edit it from the BOOT.INI tab.

Otherwise, open up C:\BOOT.INI (you should clear the system/hidden/read-only attributes first) and edit it manually.

Thanks for the fast reply. What should I edit into the file?

It currently has:


And to be more specific, I have XP in my first hard drive and Vista on my second hard drive.

I've tried the following, but the drives don't boot and give an error instead:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows Vista" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(2)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows Vista" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

I have gotten these errors:

Windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware configuration problem.

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt ntoskrnl.exe.

You can't add Vista to the XP Boot.ini, you have to reinstall the Vista Boot Loader, and put XP in it.
Vista's is backwards compatable, whereas the XP one can't go up.

Either two options,
1) Insert Vista install disc and choose repair
Or my personal choice,
2) Repair with EasyBCD (instructions)

You learn something new everyday.

Thanks for the tip, CT. I'm going to try the EasyBCD solution.

Well, I ran easyBCD and now my PC automatically goes to Vista now. Seems like a good first step.

So now, from here, how would I create the boot menu and add my XP partition?